Adventures in Downsizing – Day 8 – The Long Weekend

It’s Wednesday, and the long weekend is almost over. I should say, our long weekend’s project is almost done.

Our goal was to complete stripping the wallpaper out of two rooms. We have a little less than three-quarters of a room to go.

Have you ever stripped wallpaper before? This was my first time.

Initially, it seemed fun, tearing off large sheets of the top layer was like peeling a sunburn. Who doesn’t enjoy that?

But then came the less enjoyable part, the wetting, and scraping of the bottom layer. It’s messy and time-consuming.

It’s one of those “one time DIY is enough” things. Why anyone would choose to wallpaper is a mystery to me.

So, we have a small bed-wide section left to do, once we move the mattress, etc. (We’ll be sleeping in different places tonight, something we’ve rarely done if we’ve been in the same building.)

Next, we’ll paint the now-bare walls, and fix up a few other items, and the house will be ready for show. We’re planning on an open house on the 21st.

Last year’s paid landscaping

Here’s the lesson in all of this. We’re going all-out to get everything shipshape in a couple of weeks. I have to wonder what if we’d just improved over the six years we’ve been here?

I’m finding the work not difficult, it just takes times. But I’ve never been much into home improvement – the most I’ve done was paint a small bathroom and add some paper trim at the top of the walls of a light-house-themed kitchen. But those rooms were both in brand new construction.

This house was built in 1960-something. It needs a lot more TLC. More than I/we care or are able or can afford to give it.

Barb and I are very much excited about our prospects for moving to a townhouse.